METAL CHURCH have issued an apology for previously released statement regarding the passing of singer Mike Howe.
Mike Howe‘s official cause of death was determined to be asphyxia due to hanging, TMZ has revealed. A spokesperson for the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Dept. told the site authorities are calling it a suicide.
Police got a call Monday morning (July 26) just after 10 a.m. in Eureka, California reporting an unexpected death at a home. By the time deputies arrived, they found the 55-year-old dead at the scene.
Police also said that alcohol and drugs were not believed to be factors in the 55-year-old singer’s death, and no controlled substances or paraphernalia were found in the home where he died.
Yesterday, the surviving members of METAL CHURCH shared a statement on social media in which they blamed Howe‘s death on the fact that he “was victimized by a failing health-care system and subsequently poisoned by the venom of Big Pharma,” a term which refers collectively to the global pharmaceutical industry. “In short and in essence, he fell prey to the real ‘Fake Healer’.”
METAL CHURCH‘s statement was quickly met with criticism from some of the band’s fans who felt that the long-running metal act was using Howe‘s death as a platform to assert its political views. As a result, METAL CHUCH pulled its original post from social media and replaced it with a revised version, which reads as follows: “Concerning our recently deleted post addressing the news that Mike’s passing was a suicide, we wanted to dispel any misconceptions that might have arisen from certain media reports,” METAL CHURCH wrote in its latest post. “In our efforts to do that, our attempts at honesty created a narrative that fell outside our purest of intentions. We were in no way, shape or form referring to anything in relation to vaccinations, COVID or politics. We were saying our brother was hurting and while he was seeking medical care for it, the treatments he was utilizing did not protect him. Otherwise, he would still be with us today.
“If you knew Mike Howe, then you knew he was a truly good human being who loved his friends, his family and his many fans around the world. He would always go the extra mile to make someone feel good and he would always give you the shirt off his back if you needed it. We ask that you remember Mike in that way and for the amazing metal music he created.
“This is an extremely difficult time for everyone who knew Mike personally and those that knew him through the music. We are all still processing the loss of our brother. We apologize that the original statement was misunderstood or created an incorrect dialog. We ask that you please stop attacking each other in relation to Mike‘s passing and METAL CHURCH. We ask that you take that energy and use it to keep Mike’s memory alive by sharing the music he created while he was with us. We want METAL CHURCH music to bring people together as it has over the years and not be divisive.
“Godspeed Mike Howe, WE LOVE YOU!!!”
